Back in November here on the blog of Hotel Florida Spa we recommended you to visit Puerto Marina. If you haven’t done it yet now you have even more reasons to do so as this summer this popular marina in the neighbouring town of Benalmádena will host a craft market.

This new market is known as “Arts Marina” and by visiting it you will have access to handmade stuff, vintage items or typical Andalusian products like olive oil.

“Arts Marina” is a daily evening market open till pass midnight. This makes it even more attractive to visitors as in the evening temperatures are more pleasant to walk around the marina and do some shopping.

This summer this marina will also offer free music shows, plays and other nice activities thought to please visitors.

Getting to Puerto Marina from our hotel is very easy. You only have to go to the bus station in the centre of Fuengirola and get on the bus that connects Fuengirola and Benalmadena, so if you are currently on holiday at Hotel Florida Spa or you are planning to visit us soon we recommend you not to miss this great market.

Beatriz Muñoz

Guest Relations

Last week on our blog we talked about Malaga and its famous “Bridge of the Germans”, this week we would like to keep on talking about Malaga and recommend you another nice place to visit.

Thanks to some cooking shows many of you already know how amazing Spanish markets are and what a wide variety of fresh products they offer.

Some of the best known in Spain are the Boquería Market in Barcelona or the San Anton and San Miguel in Madrid, markets visited not only by locals but also by food lover tourists.

Well, Malaga also has a fabulous market which is well worth a visit. Its name is “Atarazanas Market” and it is in the core of the historic centre.

It is a bustling place with lots of different smells, colourful fruits, fresh meat and the typical nice fish from the area.

The Atarazanas Market shows us the most traditional and authentic side of Malaga. The building was built more than 130 years ago and it is called like that because of an old naval repair centre which in the Nazari times was in that same spot.

This market has very impressive architecture. The old naval centre influenced its design and the marble door of the building is the one that the repair centre had.

If you visit Malaga while on holiday at Hotel Florida Spa we recommend you not to miss it. Remember, it opens from Monday to Saturday from 8 A.M till 2:00 P.M so if you go early you will have more chances to see the wide range of products available.

Nowadays at the market you can also have some beautiful tapas and refreshments…It couldn’t be better!

Beatriz Muñoz

Guest Relations

Santo Domingo Bridge in the centre of Malaga is the most popular bridge in the city and it is also known as the “Bridge of the Germans” …Can you guest why?

The story starts in 1900 when a German tall shipcrashed in the port of Malaga due to a sea storm and many people from Malaga did not hesitate to help the German sailors putting their own lives at risk.

7 years after this the Guadalmedina river in Malaga flooded and destroyed a few bridges in the city. When the news reached Germany they decided to raise funds to help Malaga as a thank you for the assistance provided years before.

With the money Germany raised they built the “Bridge of the Germans” and they donated it to the city of Malaga in 1909 the day of the 9th anniversary of the shipwrecking.

It is obvious this is a bridge with a lot of history; in fact this can be appreciated on its plaque that says:

“Germany donated this bridge to Malaga as a thank you for the heroic assistance that the city offered to the sailors of the Gneisenau war frigate”…What a fantastic story!

If you are on holiday at Hotel Florida Spa or you are planning to do so soon and you have liked the story we have just shared with you, use one of your days to visit Malaga city and see this legendary bridge.

The “Bridge of the Germans” is not difficult to find as it is one of the bridges over the Guadalmedina River, which is very easy to spot, and it is also very close to the Malaga Centre train station.